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TOP STORY
ANALYSIS: New buyers poised to enter novel carbon removals market despite cost challenges
Buyers from new sectors are preparing to ramp up investment in novel carbon removals that would alter the current profile of corporates purchasing engineered-based units, long dominated by large technology firms, despite credit costs still well into the hundreds of dollars per tonne.
EMEA
DATA DIVE – Big spenders: Where does the EU channel its ETS revenues?
The EU ETS has helped bring down emissions from power and industry by 47% since 2005, and the money raised each year through the auctioning of carbon permits brings in a substantial amount of income to the bloc, with billions channeled towards clean energy projects, data shows.
EU council introduces further requirements for climate-related claims reliant on carbon credits in latest draft text
The Council of EU member states is working to adopt its position on an anti-greenwashing law proposed by the European Commission, with the latest text seen by Carbon Pulse clarifying further requirements for companies to back up climate-related claims that rely on carbon credits.
Clean power can cover 90% of EU industry’s future energy needs, study says
Direct electrification of process heat used to make steel, chemicals, and other industrial goods could meet 90% of the remaining energy demand from European industry that has not yet been electrified by 2035, according to a study released on Wednesday.
Euro Markets: EUAs post modest loss after early volatility as buyers emerge to slow steady selling
European carbon prices were modestly weaker at the end of Wednesday as buying interest emerged to soak up the steady selling pressure that has been a feature for several days, as traders reacted to choppy natural gas movements and Commitment of Traders data that showed investment funds had increased their bearish bets last week.
AMERICAS
Fiscal pressures could open opportunity for US carbon pricing deal, experts say
Experts debated at two panels Tuesday on whether increasing fiscal and climate pressures would be enough to facilitate a future bipartisan agreement in the US on some form of national carbon price.
Maryland governor signs order advancing Climate Pollution Reduction Plan
Governor Wes Moore (D) signed an executive order Tuesday to advance Maryland’s Climate Pollution Reduction Plan, requiring state agencies to submit a Climate Implementation Plan by Nov. 1 and created a Subcabinet on Climate.
Proposed CO2 pipeline faces persistent pushback from North Dakota landowners
Public hearing sessions concerning a proposed pipeline that would store CO2 from Midwest biorefineries in North Dakota concluded Tuesday without allaying landowners’ worries regarding safety and easement agreements.
Alberta TIER registry transactions set record in May ahead of 2023 compliance deadline
The Alberta Technology Innovation and Emission Reduction (TIER) programme recorded the highest transaction activity in May as the 2023 compliance deadline approaches, while assessed spot prices declined, according to a report published Monday.
BRIEFING: In Argentine carbon markets, Milei’s vision of constructive chaos meets real-world limits
Argentina’s President Javier Milei has proposed an ETS and promoted administrative reshuffling, including of climate-adjacent agencies, as part of his government’s attempt to overhaul the country’s economy, but pushback to his flagship legislation, acute financial constraints, and risk aversion in the voluntary carbon market (VCM) threaten his plans.
Oil and gas producers aim for extraction with a twist to manage emissions in Argentina
Argentinian oil and gas (O&G) producers are open to greening their operations but seek marginal, not transformational change, according to industry representatives and a public official speaking at the Argentina Carbon Forum in Buenos Aires.
ASIA PACIFIC
Report finds Australia well placed to drive the decarbonising of Asia-Pacific steel
Australia could be a key intermediary in decarbonising the Asia Pacific’s iron and steelmaking processes, according to a BloombergNEF report released Wednesday, saying it would be more economically feasible compared to other methods being explored by itself and its trade partners.
Japanese partnership eyes renewable energy carbon credit push
Two Japanese companies announced Wednesday they had joined in an alliance that will seek to generate carbon credits from renewable energy projects, including potentially under the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM).
Thailand to impose carbon tax by 2025, official says
The government of Thailand is planning to impose a carbon tax on the nation by 2025, the country’s Excise Department has told local media.
China on track to beat green hydrogen production target -research
China is on track to surpass its 2025 green hydrogen production target already this year, according to research released Wednesday.
INTERNATIONAL
Global warming caused by humans at all-time high, carbon budget shrinks, say scientists
Human-induced global warming is rising faster than ever, leaving the smallest remaining carbon budget for 1.5C on record, an international group of researchers calculated.
VOLUNTARY
Brazilian federal police launch effort against alleged criminal carbon offsetting operation
The Brazilian Federal Police (PF) launched an operation Wednesday that aims to dismantle an unidentified criminal group suspected of selling around R$180 million ($34 mln) in carbon credits from illegally authorised lands, according to a government press release.
CAR Argentina Livestock Protocol not implementable -scientist
The Climate Action Reserve (CAR) standard’s pending protocol to tackle emissions from Argentina’s vast beef herds and other livestock cannot be implemented in a scientifically robust way under local conditions, an applied scientist at a national research institute told Carbon Pulse on Tuesday at the Argentina Carbon Forum in Buenos Aires.
Group of African countries calls on SBTi to support corporate offsetting -Reuters
A group of West African countries has reportedly appealed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to include a provision for carbon offsetting within its net zero guidance to companies, saying that credit revenues are crucial to supporting communities and conservation efforts.
Verra inactivates ARR modules under REDD+ voluntary carbon methodology
Verra has inactivated all afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation (ARR) modules under its VM0007 REDD+ methodology framework, it announced this week.
Malawi gives go-ahead to project to distribute 2 mln clean cooking stoves
A developer of clean cooking appliances and carbon offset projects has received authorisation to begin carbon projects in Malawi, it announced on Wednesday.
Offtake agreements key to bridging CDR financing gap -report
Offtake agreements could play a critical role in bridging the financing gap in the carbon dioxide removal (CDR) market, provided that they include detailed information on pricing as well as safeguards for buyers and investors, according to a new report.
BIODIVERSITY (FREE TO READ)
US pitches ocean accounting in first marine biodiversity strategy
The US government has launched a nationwide roadmap for improving marine ecosystems data that suggests industry actors put a price on ocean biodiversity, spurred in-part by emerging nature markets.
Closing the nature finance gap could produce over 20 times return on investment, UNEP says
Increasing funding in natural capital over the next six years could deliver more than 20 times the return on investment, while bridging the nature finance gap could generate trillions of dollars in earnings, a report revealed on Wednesday.
Canada extends conservation certificate pilot scheme
Canada has announced it will extend to 2026 its Conservation Exchange Pilot programme, which allows companies to earn government-issued certificates for verified achievements in conservation projects they fund.
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BIOCHAR REPORT
Supercritical’s latest report reveals a 30x surge in biochar supply over the next four years, however 88% of this growth comes from low-quality credits. “Boom or Bust? 2024 Biochar Market Outlook” delves into the pressing challenges buyers face, offering exclusive data and trends from Supercritical’s own marketplace which covers 80% of the market. Discover why high-quality biochar commands premium prices and how savvy buyers secure long-term agreements amidst the scarcity. This essential report equips you with the insights needed to navigate the evolving biochar landscape and make informed decisions in this burgeoning market. Download the report
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WEBINAR
Surprises from analyzing over 500+ carbon projects – June 12th, 9AM BST: Join carbon market experts from Morgan Stanley, BCG, and Calyx Global as they discuss insights gained from evaluating carbon credit quality. The speakers will review the surprising project types with higher GHG integrity, due diligence best practices, and how to consider beyond carbon impacts. Learn what key factors play a critical role in assessing GHG integrity – helping you make more informed decisions. Register for the webinar here. You will receive an on-demand recording after the webinar if you register but cannot attend live.
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CONFERENCES
Carbon Forward North America – June 11-12, Toronto and Online: Join us in the Great White North to hear about the evolving carbon pricing and climate policy landscape in North America. Whether you are an emitter, investor, developer, or a new participant in any of the continent’s carbon markets – compliance or voluntary – Carbon Forward North America offers you the opportunity to gain knowledge on both present and future policy developments and market opportunities. Explore the chance to meet the right people or source the right solutions to help you enhance your business prospects or minimise your risk. Come meet the region’s world-leading carbon market experts, compliance players, government officials, investors, project developers, analysts, brokers, and other stakeholders. To express an interest in speaking or sponsoring, please email michelle@carbon-forward.com
FREE PASSES: We have allocated a limited number of free passes for Carbon Forward North America to attendees representing medium and large companies that currently buy and retire voluntary carbon credits or are looking to do so in the future. If your organisation is an end user of carbon offsets or wants to learn more about offsetting, and is not from the energy or financial sectors, contact us to apply for a free pass. Maximum one per company.
Carbon Forward Expo – October 8-10, London and Online: Save the date! More info coming soon…
Argentina Carbon Forum – June 4-5, Buenos Aires: The Argentina Carbon Forum, a key initiative to strengthen carbon markets in the country, seeks to mobilise local actors and promote intensive climate action. This event opens doors for public-private sector organisations to leverage economic and environmental benefits by financing projects that mitigate climate change. It also offers business visibility, networking and access to valuable information, discussing issues such as markets and negotiations, implementation of emissions trading systems, and decarbonisation strategies. The Argentina Carbon Forum fosters collaboration and the development of innovative solutions for a sustainable future. Register here
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Premium job listings
- Manager, Market Strategy & Engagement, Native – Remote (US)
- Head of Carbon Project Development (m/f/d) – Volkswagen ClimatePartner GmbH – Munich
- Environmental Markets Correspondent, Carbon Pulse – Latin America
See all listings or post a job
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
INTERNATIONAL
‘Godfathers of chaos’ – The world’s fossil fuel industries should be banned from advertising to help save the world from climate change, the head of the United Nations said on Wednesday. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called coal, oil, and gas corporations the “godfathers of climate chaos” who had distorted the truth and deceived the public for decades, the BBC reports. Just as tobacco advertising was banned because of the threat to health, the same should now apply to fossil fuels, he said. His remarks were his most damning condemnation yet of the industries responsible for the bulk of global warming. They came as new studies showed the rate of warming is increasing and that global heat records have continued to tumble.
Gathering feedback – A group of organisations representing Indigenous Peoples and local communities have announced the establishment of an advisory group to support the review process of ART’s jurisdictional carbon standard, The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard (TREES). The initiative, led by ANECAP, COIAB, Red Mocaf, and REPALEAC, aims to foster regional dialogues with other Indigenous and community-led organisations. The advisory group members will gather feedback and generate recommendations before the formal review of TREES by the ART secretariat, due to be carried out by the end of this year. A final version of TREES is expected to be released in 2025.
Climate risk modelling – FIS Global, a large financial technology company, has launched its Climate Risk Financial Modeler, using data from PwC, to help companies assess, reduce, and report their exposure to climate-related risks. The modeler harmonizes client data with third-party climate data and is hosted on a new interface, aiming to drive more proactive foresight into potential climate-related risks. It will help businesses understand how to adapt to climate-related risks, while supporting regulatory compliance, FIS said today in a press release.
EMEA
Picking projects – Klik, the organisation mandated to buy international carbon credits for the Swiss government, has published the eligible activity types as part of a bilateral trade agreement with Tunisia. These include those relating to energy efficiency or the use of renewable energy in households, electric mobility, the use of renewable energy in industry, and methane reduction in agriculture.The activities must not yet be implemented, must align with the domestic strategy to implement the NDC, and should generate more than 250,000 ITMOs out to 2030. Furthermore, mitigation activities must be authorised and implemented in accordance with the bilateral climate agreement signed by Tunisia and Switzerland in Dec. 2023, Klik said.
Task at hand – The government of Mauritius launched its National Blue Carbon Task Force Wednesday to build capacity, create recommendations, and finance adaptation opportunities, All Africa reports. Mauritius has been working closely with Australian scientific bodies such as the CSIRO and the Ocean Blue Carbon Hub to assess the health of seagrass around Mauritius since 2019. Katie Lalor, acting high commissioner of Australia told a launch event that the creation of the taskforce was an important milestone in protecting blue carbon ecosystems and creating a blue carbon finance mechanism.
UK debate – The leaders of the UK Conservative and Labour parties clashed over their parties’ competing net zero strategies in the first TV debate ahead of the July 4 General Election last night, as they exchanged accusations that their opposing plans would push up costs for households. Rishi Sunak said he he had taken “bold decisions” to rollback a number of decarbonisation policies that he feared would impose a heavy cost burden on consumers, referring to his delay to the phase-out date for the sale of new internal combustion engine cars by five years to 2035, scrapped energy efficiency rules for rental properties, and delays to the phase-out of carbon-intensive oil boilers. He argued that Labour would reverse the policy changes and force people to go greener faster, resulting in higher household costs. However, Kier Starmer insisted that Labour’s increased investment in renewables would help bring down costs for households and boost energy security. Starmer also reiterated earlier in the day the Labour Party’s plans to launch a publicly-owned energy company to invest in clean power generation UK-wide. (BusinessGreen)
Banking for trees – Consolidated Bank Ghana has embarked on a project to plant 60,000 trees to support Ghana’s climate goals and NDC under the Paris Agreement. The initiative was launched at the bank’s premises in Accra and will plant the trees across local communities, with a larger part of the community being Mpraeso, the capital of the Kwahu South District in the Eastern region. Ghana has so far achieved a total of 117,000 hectares of restoration efforts out of its 2 mln ha target.
ASIA PACIFIC
Managing emissions better – Chinese government agencies have issued a plan for establishing a carbon footprint management system, according to documents released Wednesday. The ministries together, have formulated the “Implementation Plan for Establishing a Carbon Footprint Management System”, expected to go into effect in 2027, in efforts to reduce emissions, deal with high import tariffs under EU’s CBAM, and to help achieve the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. Initially, the guidance will be applied to 100 key products throughout the economy, including high-emitting products such as coal and natural gas, and will later be expanded to 200 products by 2030. China’s current NDC climate plan targets peaking carbon emissions by 2030, and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
AMERICAS
Renewable diesel surge – Renewable diesel production surpassed biodiesel production for the first time in 2022-23, according to the USDA’s Economic Research Service. In the 2022-23 marketing year, biodiesel production declined slightly to 1.7 bln gallons (6.4 bln litres). Renewable diesel production, meanwhile, has surged from 40 mln gallons in 2010-11 to 2.3 bln gallons in 2022-23. Biodiesel and renewable diesel production combined reached an all-time high in 2022-23, accounting for 46% of US soybean oil production. (Farm Progress)
Environmental groups support EPA – A group of environmental and health including the Environmental Defense Fund, the Clean Air Council, and the Sierra Club, filed a potion Monday to support the US EPA in defending its updated Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS). In their motion, the group says the EPA has a statutory obligation to regulate hazardous air pollution and protect people from the harmful side effects. The group said its members would suffer from any ruling that would vacate, delay, or weaken the MATS update, and therefore should be allowed to intervene in favour of the EPA, amongst other reasons.
CCS caution – A group of environment justice groups petitioned the EPA in a joint letter to avoid defining approaches such as retrofitting natural gas power generation plants with CCS technology or co-firing with hydrogen under best system of emissions reductions (BSER), E&E reported Wednesday. These approaches contribute to harmful co-pollutants, as well as bring myriad health and safety risks from chemical usage, pipeline explosions, and storage leaks, they said in the letter. Instead, the groups offered emission reduction alternatives including operational and maintenance best practices and heat rate improvements through equipment upgrades, which would allow facilities to run more cleanly and efficiently. The letter also cautioned the agency against granting leeway that would not only undermine the rule, but also shirk EPA’s responsibility to uphold environmental justice. Other areas of concern were the lack of cumulative impact analysis of the EPA’s power plant rules and the use of market-based mechanisms to achieve emissions guidelines in state implementation plans.
Not in my backyard – Alameda City Council in San Francisco on Wednesday unanimously voted to block an experiment by University of Washington researchers to test a device intended to brighten clouds, so that they would reflect more light back into space, the New York times reported. Known as solar geoengineering or climate intervention, the process attempts to temporarily cool the planet by boosting clouds’ reflectivity and bouncing more of the sun’s rays back into space before they can warm the Earth’s surface. The researchers began conducting cloud brightening experiments in Alameda in April, but the city called for a halt while they evaluated the risks after residents began expressing alarm about the technology being used in their backyard. Analysts hired by the City of Alameda to assess the experiment found that it posed no health risk, informing that the salt water being sprayed by scientists was similar to natural sea spray from the ocean. The city manager recommended Tuesday evening that the Council approve the project. But the councillors ultimately decided that they still weren’t sure the experiments were harmless.
VOLUNTARY
AI for rice – Mantle Labs, a UK provider of remote sensing and AI, is working with Gold Standard to evaluate how its technology can help smallholder rice farmers in Vietnam access carbon finance, the two announced in a press release. The project will be carried out through a partnership between Gold Standard, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Australian Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Business Partnerships Platform (BPP), which aims to scale carbon market access for sustainable rice producers in Vietnam. The applications of AI and machine learning to monitor ongoing project performance is expected to reduce transaction costs and boost market efficiency. “By applying our advanced AI technology, we intend to provide smallholder rice farmers with better access to carbon finance, ultimately supporting their transition to more sustainable agricultural practices,” said Jon Pierre, CEO of Mantle Labs. In early April, Mantle Labs partnered with Faeger, a Japanese project developer, also on rice programmes to generate credits, likely under the J-Credit scheme’s rice drying period extension methodology. Rice cultivation is responsible for at least 11% of global methane emissions, a GHG 27-30 times more potent than CO2.
Weird and (not so) wonderful – The suggestion that carbon credits could be generated from breastfeeding babies instead of using commercially produced formula milk has been disputed by Carbon Market Watch, which says that the issue is primarily socioeconomic rather than climate-related, and points to the difficulty in measuring the net climate benefit and the troubling implicit commodification of women’s bodies. It also critiques the suggestion of generating carbon credits from controlling Australia’s feral camel population under the country’s Carbon Farming Initiative, disputing the permanence of such a method and difficulties in estimating the exact GHGs to be spared. Further, the author lambasts efforts to generate credits from whales, such as by the Whale Carbon Plus Project, highlighting the challenge of estimating the complex value whales bring to the environment in climate terms alone. While the proposed technique of ocean iron fertilisation to promote carbon sequestration could have potentially disastrous effects on the marine environment, in addition to uncertainty about how much carbon this technique would remove from the atmosphere for permanent storage. A binding international ban on commercial ocean iron fertilisation came into force a decade ago, but the article says other experimental techniques like biomass sinking and alkaline solutions could also lead to negative impacts on the ocean and marine life.
AVIATION
Aviation vs energy – Airlines and energy firms clashed this week over the scarce availability of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), as carriers struggle to deal with near-record demand, supply chain problems, and a target for net zero emissions by 2050, Reuters reported following the International Air Transport Association’s three-day summit. SAF supplies cover only 0.5% of airline fuel needs. Airline industry representatives claimed at the summit that the energy industry isn’t doing its part to increase the availability of SAF, with the association’s chief noting that TotalEnergies’ net earnings of $23.2 bln last year was nearly equivalent to the entire airline industry’s 2023 net earnings of $27 bln. SAF production doubled in 2023 and is expected to triple in 2024, but it is three times more expensive than the cost of kerosene, according to Reuters.
AND FINALLY…
Endangered risotto – Over 80% of Europe’s nature is in poor condition, posing significant threats to the economy, unique landscapes, and traditional foods, says a briefing by WWF European policy office. Key crops at the base of beloved products are at risk due to heat, water shortages, wildfires, and floods, with economic losses from climate-related disasters already exceeding €12 bln annually. That’s also why European chefs united with civil society organisations and scientists to sound the alarm over the future of the continent’s cuisine. Nature restoration, they said, can play a fundamental role in saving treasured food, while for now “the future of dishes such as famous Italian risottos or the Spanish tortilla de patatas is endangered.”
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